Post by England 3 Lions on Sept 18, 2009 2:08:34 GMT 10
Gold Coast Titans have a depth of soul: Robert Craddock
By Robert Craddock
September 14, 2009 12:00am
Source: The Courier Mail
THE Gold Coast Titans could not find the result they were looking for against the Broncos but they have found something even more important: a soul.
It was a soul many fans felt would never be found in their region, a Bermuda triangle of so many failed sporting franchises, but it's there . . . a tangible, passionate spirit flowing through the club and its vibrant supporter base.
There would be Sydney rugby league teams who would go decades without feeling the shake-your-soul support that rocked Skilled Park on Saturday.
The only sour note of the night was the Titans whingeing about the referees. It was a shame they could not have simply got on with life.
Big games like Saturday's will come and go. But if the club can just throw a net around its hot-blooded supporter base the future will look after itself.
The new Gold Coast AFL team will have to be on their mettle to take on this lot.
The Titans are well established and growing by the day. They were given a three-year headstart to hook a generation and they have almost done it.
Look up in the stands and you see billboards carrying the names of backers great and small including pizza outfits, a local dry cleaner and a tanning salon.
Even when sponsors leave the fold, club chief executive Michael Searle encourages them to stay on board by coming to games.
Saturday's match against the Broncos was such a big local event the Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday put out a special Sunday edition to do it justice.
The Titans' formula is simple . . . a good front office, plus a good coach, plus a nicely balanced playing staff – and no idiots – equals a good crowd following and a solid club.
Especially when they play at a pristine new home which is small enough to feel intimate and hostile but big enough to give any match a sense of occasion.
Saturday night's game was just an assault on your eardrums.
Every worthwhile deed from a Titans player was greeted by a thunderclap of cheers and roars, and the Broncos did exceptionally well to overcome it.
It was just deafening and even the players were rocked by it.
"I have never heard a crowd that loud – it was just ear-piercing," Titans utility Preston Campbell said.
"It almost felt like static in your ear it was so loud. I got scared a couple of times. The roars were so loud I thought there must have been someone coming in from behind me."
At one stage the roars we so loud that when Titans forward Anthony Laffranchi was standing about 12m away from Brad Meyers and shouting loudly in his direction to go on, Meyers could not hear him and for a few seconds just stood and watched the play before realising the man who he was replacing was already off.
John Cartwright left the coaching box and went to the boundary with 10 minutes to go because his coaching staff could not hear each other and he urged the crowd to rally like never before.
"It gives you a lump in the throat to hear that roar and it went for the whole last 10 minutes," Cartwright said.
"What made it even more was when they took the intercept and scored, it went dead quiet. It was an empty feeling."
ABC broadcaster Warren Boland said a special joy of Titans games was walking in with the fans who just seem younger than other clubs – plenty of boyfriends and girlfriends and 30-something-year-old parents with their children.
Chris Close, a pioneer of the original Gold Coast franchise in 1988, shed a tear after the game when he told the side how proud they should be of their performance. "It is just so pleasing to see the Gold Coast get an identity with something apart from tourism," Close said.
"I told them that they had done the club proud."
The Titans have been shamelessly shunted out to $31 in premiership markets and this does not look likely to be their year.
As honourable as they are there just seems to be a gap between what they have got and what wins the premiership.
Something's missing. Maybe it's a dam-busting centre.
Maybe it's a big line-breaking backrower.
Most of the pieces are in place.
In Scott Prince, Mat Rogers and Preston Campbell they have the playmakers every top side needs.
Wingers Kevin Gordon and David Mead have pace and great promise and their pack is industrious.
They may be one match away from premiership extinction this year but they'll be back.
By Robert Craddock
September 14, 2009 12:00am
Source: The Courier Mail
THE Gold Coast Titans could not find the result they were looking for against the Broncos but they have found something even more important: a soul.
It was a soul many fans felt would never be found in their region, a Bermuda triangle of so many failed sporting franchises, but it's there . . . a tangible, passionate spirit flowing through the club and its vibrant supporter base.
There would be Sydney rugby league teams who would go decades without feeling the shake-your-soul support that rocked Skilled Park on Saturday.
The only sour note of the night was the Titans whingeing about the referees. It was a shame they could not have simply got on with life.
Big games like Saturday's will come and go. But if the club can just throw a net around its hot-blooded supporter base the future will look after itself.
The new Gold Coast AFL team will have to be on their mettle to take on this lot.
The Titans are well established and growing by the day. They were given a three-year headstart to hook a generation and they have almost done it.
Look up in the stands and you see billboards carrying the names of backers great and small including pizza outfits, a local dry cleaner and a tanning salon.
Even when sponsors leave the fold, club chief executive Michael Searle encourages them to stay on board by coming to games.
Saturday's match against the Broncos was such a big local event the Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday put out a special Sunday edition to do it justice.
The Titans' formula is simple . . . a good front office, plus a good coach, plus a nicely balanced playing staff – and no idiots – equals a good crowd following and a solid club.
Especially when they play at a pristine new home which is small enough to feel intimate and hostile but big enough to give any match a sense of occasion.
Saturday night's game was just an assault on your eardrums.
Every worthwhile deed from a Titans player was greeted by a thunderclap of cheers and roars, and the Broncos did exceptionally well to overcome it.
It was just deafening and even the players were rocked by it.
"I have never heard a crowd that loud – it was just ear-piercing," Titans utility Preston Campbell said.
"It almost felt like static in your ear it was so loud. I got scared a couple of times. The roars were so loud I thought there must have been someone coming in from behind me."
At one stage the roars we so loud that when Titans forward Anthony Laffranchi was standing about 12m away from Brad Meyers and shouting loudly in his direction to go on, Meyers could not hear him and for a few seconds just stood and watched the play before realising the man who he was replacing was already off.
John Cartwright left the coaching box and went to the boundary with 10 minutes to go because his coaching staff could not hear each other and he urged the crowd to rally like never before.
"It gives you a lump in the throat to hear that roar and it went for the whole last 10 minutes," Cartwright said.
"What made it even more was when they took the intercept and scored, it went dead quiet. It was an empty feeling."
ABC broadcaster Warren Boland said a special joy of Titans games was walking in with the fans who just seem younger than other clubs – plenty of boyfriends and girlfriends and 30-something-year-old parents with their children.
Chris Close, a pioneer of the original Gold Coast franchise in 1988, shed a tear after the game when he told the side how proud they should be of their performance. "It is just so pleasing to see the Gold Coast get an identity with something apart from tourism," Close said.
"I told them that they had done the club proud."
The Titans have been shamelessly shunted out to $31 in premiership markets and this does not look likely to be their year.
As honourable as they are there just seems to be a gap between what they have got and what wins the premiership.
Something's missing. Maybe it's a dam-busting centre.
Maybe it's a big line-breaking backrower.
Most of the pieces are in place.
In Scott Prince, Mat Rogers and Preston Campbell they have the playmakers every top side needs.
Wingers Kevin Gordon and David Mead have pace and great promise and their pack is industrious.
They may be one match away from premiership extinction this year but they'll be back.